Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 41,856 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 118.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,209 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 41,856 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.09% of Marten Transport worth $880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,028 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 18.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 61,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 9,654 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the first quarter valued at $158,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the second quarter valued at $96,000. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Marten Transport stock opened at $17.43 on Wednesday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $9.35 and a fifty-two week high of $18.48. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.74 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.47.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.01). Marten Transport had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 1.89%. The business had revenue of $203.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. Marten Transport’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRTN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird raised Marten Transport to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Stephens upgraded Marten Transport to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marten Transport has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Marten Transport

Marten Transport, Inc is a North American transportation services provider offering temperature-controlled and dry van truckload services. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin, the company specializes in full truckload, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal and port drayage solutions. Its core focus on refrigerated and produce freight has made it a key partner for food manufacturers, retailers and other shippers requiring strict temperature management.

The company maintains a modern fleet of tractors and trailers equipped with advanced telematics, electronic logging devices and continuous temperature monitoring.